Denmark and Little Iceland: Bedtime Monsters
by TheClockworkKid
Summary: Cute little oneshot of Denmark trying to get Iceland (child) to go to sleep at bedtime. The monsters in the closet are keeping Iceland awake though and Denmark has to pull a few tricks to coax him that there is none.


"You all finished brushing your teeth," Denmark asked as Iceland stepped out of the bathroom.

Iceland glanced up at him, holding his pet bird in his arms, and nodded silently before continuing on his way towards his bedroom. Denmark pushed himself gently up off the wall he had been leaning on as he waited for Iceland to finish in order to tuck him in. He followed the little child towards the bedroom, turning on the light as he entered. Iceland waddled over to the bed before resting his bird on the covers. The puffin fluttered its black wings as it settled down. Iceland gripped onto the sheets, securing himself before climbing onto it.

"Need help?" Denmark chuckled as he rushed over to him. It may have been still too tall for Iceland, he would soon grow into though... He had already grown so much over a few months.

"No," Iceland said firmly in the cute voice he had that made the smile already on Denmark's face grow.

"Okay," Denmark replied.

Iceland finally made it before scrambling over to the pillow before lying down on his pillow, squirming under the blanket. He gazed up at Denmark as Denmark sat down on the bed, careful not to accidentally sit on Iceland's feet.

"So, can I read you a story tonight, Icey?" Denmark smiled.

Iceland shook his head violently.

"Your stories are sad," Iceland muttered as he looked away.

"They're not that bad..." Denmark sighed as he pulled the blanket up to cover Iceland more. He was never sure if Iceland was going to be cold during the night or hot... It always seemed to change...

He tucked him in and he saw the puffin waddle over to be with its owner.

"Tuck in as well," Iceland demanded, staring up at Denmark with tired eyes.

"What do we say?" Denmark poked Iceland's little nose and Iceland's face scrunched up.

"Please," Iceland frowned.

The puffin settled next to the pillow before glancing up at Denmark as he pulled the sheets up to the bird. Denmark stroked its head with one finger.

"Goodnight, Mr. Puffin," Denmark smiled, "I hope your dreams are full of fish that you can catch."

It seemed to get the message as it closed its eyes and Denmark's hand went to Iceland's near-white hair. He patted the child's head.

"Goodnight, Iceland," Denmark said before leaning down and kissing his forehead, "I hope your dreams have lots of adventures in them with Viking ships and dragons."

"And elves," Iceland added.

"And elves," Denmark chuckled.

Denmark patted Iceland shoulder before standing up. He gave one last glance at the boy before leaving the room. Norway could say goodnight now to Iceland, maybe even read him a bedtime story that he refused to hear from Denmark's tales.

Denmark yawned. Almost time for bed, he assumed before taking another sip of his drink. He flipped the page of the book resting on the table, his eyes scanning the page. He could hear Norway in the kitchen, finishing the rest of the dishes.

Denmark reached for his glass again when a sound came from down the hall.

"Big Brother!" he heard Iceland cry out.

He frowned and stood up quickly. He almost ran into Norway as he made his way to the bedroom. A look of distress seem to pass over Norway's neutral face as he gazed towards his little child's room, fussing with a dish towel in his hand.

"I've got it," Denmark reassured him, patting Norway's shoulder.

Norway bit his lip before nodding, his gaze not leaving the hallway. Denmark made his way quickly to Iceland's room and opened the door, letting light spill in.

"What's wrong?" Denmark asked.

"There's a monster in the closet!" Iceland whimpered, pulling the sheets up to his face as he huddled close to the headboard.

Not this again, Denmark sighed mentally as he turned on the lights. He placed on a calm expression before walking over to the closet.

"Iceland, how many times do I gotta say it," Denmark opened the door to the closet, "No one's gonna attack ya with three Vikings in the house."

Iceland didn't seem to be convinced as he stared at the closet with a fearful expression.

"What did he look like?" Denmark asked, "So I know what to look for?"

"He has red, blue, and black fur..." he could barely hear Iceland speak from the bed as he pretended to search through the random objects in that closet, "And... Four horns that are spirally. And he has a big mouth with really pointy teeth." His voice slowly rose in volume. "And he keeps staring at me and I think he's waiting for me to turn my back so he can grab me!"

"Well... I don't see any monsters that look like that," Denmark said as he pulled apart the clothes hanging and glanced back at the boy, "See? There's no monsters hiding."

"But..." Iceland started, not convinced as he pulled him under the covers more, his eyes peaking out.

"Oh, wait," Denmark smirked, "There is _one_ monster." Denmark laughed as he rushed over to the bed, tugging the blankets off. "It's the tickle monster!"

Iceland's eyes grew before Denmark attacked his sides. A huge smile erupted on Iceland's face before he shrieked in laughter as he squirmed to get out of Denmark's hold.

"Oh no!" Denmark playfully yelled, "The tickle monster's got ya, Icey! What are you gonna do? He's going to tickle you!"

Iceland attempted to push Denmark's hands away from his sides and Denmark grabbed his tiny foot instead. Iceland sat up as he realized his foot had been caught.

"Uh oh," Denmark chuckled as Iceland's eyes grew wide in fear as he realized what Denmark had, "I think the tickle monster has Iceland's most ticklish spot. His toes!"

Denmark playfully danced his fingertips on the sole of Iceland's barefoot. Iceland fell back down in laughter.

"Stop!" Iceland yelled, laughing still, "No! No tickling!"

"That's the tickle monster though!" Denmark laughed before letting his grip loosen so Iceland could squirm free.

Iceland slipped out of his hold and sat up against the headboard again. He curled up, hiding his feet under his sleeping gown. Denmark chuckled as he poked Iceland's nose.

"See, that's the monster you should be afraid of, Ice," Denmark told him, "I didn't spot any monsters in your closet so you can go back to sleep. Alright?"

Iceland glanced away.

"Alright?" Denmark repeated lifting the blanket up to him.

Iceland nodded, biting his bottom lip before grabbing the blanket and sliding down until he was lying in his spot again. His pet, seeing it was safe, hopped back onto the bed before resting next to Iceland.

"Can you sing to me?" Iceland whispered, pulling the sheets up to cover the bottom half of his face.

Denmark stared at him before grinning.

"Of course," Denmark replied, "Promise to go to sleep after though?"

"Yeah..." Iceland nodded.

Denmark laughed before letting out the first few notes of the lullaby. Norway stood quietly at the doorway, watching the two of them as Denmark sang in his unusually good singing voice. He felt the corners of his mouth lift up as he watched little Iceland's eyelids descend before he finally fell asleep.


End file.
